Armored vehicles have long been used by both civilians and military personnel to protect occupants from bullets, shells, shrapnel, and other projectiles. For example, politicians, ambassadors, and other civilians who feel at risk to an attack often travel in armored cars. The cars are typically conventional vehicles that have been carefully fitted with armor without changing their outer appearance. As such, the cars usually include bulletproof glass and layers of armored material under the outer body of the vehicle. The process of adding this armored material to a conventional vehicle can be very labor-intensive and take a significant amount of time. Therefore, the process is not particularly suited for military operations and other situations where conventional vehicles may need to be converted into armored vehicles much faster.
Current techniques for quickly modifying a conventional vehicle into an armored vehicle typically involve mounting armored panels or plates to the body of the vehicle. For example, trucks used by the military are often converted into armored vehicles by mounting the plates directly to the exterior of the vehicle. Typically this requires removing all of the windows from the vehicle and replacing them with bulletproof glass. Holes are then drilled into the cab of the vehicle and elsewhere on the body so that fasteners may be used to secure the armored plates.
While armoring a vehicle in such a manner may provide additional protection, there are several challenges associated with doing so. First, the armored panels are relatively heavy, and therefore, significantly increase the weight of the vehicle. Because the original body is not designed to support the additional weight, measures must be taken to ensure that the body does not easily deform upon impact. Typically this involves coupling the armored plates to each other and arranging them to define a support structure or providing additional reinforcing members. For example, the armor plates may be arranged to define a structure that resists the impact forces associated with the vehicle flipping over or being hit with projectiles. The additional plates needed to create the support structure further increases the weight of the vehicle, which limits the vehicle's overall speed and maneuverability.
The conventional armoring process described above involves significant modifications to the outer body so as to make the vehicle less desirable or practical upon removal of the armored plates. For example, if the armored plates are removed, the holes in the outer body become exposed and decrease the visual appeal of the vehicle. Holes in the cab area may also fail to protect occupants from weather, noise, and other elements. The numerous holes therefore provide an unpleasant riding experience and generally render the original cab ineffective for its intended purpose.
The conventional, piecemeal process is additionally labor intensive and time consuming. Drilling the holes into the body and securing the panels, one at a time, can be a cumbersome task.
As can be appreciated, there is needed an improved apparatus and method for fitting a vehicle with protective armor. The armor should be easily installed on the vehicle and leave much of the original body of the vehicle intact. Such apparatus and method would allow the vehicle to be used upon removal of the armor without significant visual or structural defects.